what baltimore county councilman is saying about this this morning. all that coming up for you on this tuesday morning. thanks for being with us maryland i am charley crowson. >> i am megan pringle. we are talking over each other. it's tuesday morning, yesterday it was gorgeousch the sun was out. hope you-joyed it because it's going to change. mere's -- enjoyed it because it's going change. here meteorologist lynette charles. >> we have a flood watch that's in effect this afternoon all the way through the evening. let's show you what i am talking about. you can see the light green outline here. we are talking about baltimore county and carroll county frederick county, howard county and anne arundel county. so, be prepared for the potential for flooding as we go through the rest of today. as we look back off towards the west in western maryland and pourings of west virginia and virginia, they are dealing with a winter weather advisory so they are going to get in on some of the snowy type parts of the system. now we look at maryland's most powerful radar as of now. and here at home not a whole lot to look at but down back to the south. that's where they are seeing

the heavy rain coming in and that's what's going to be moving in our direction. but before that happens, you can see some of the pinks there this is wentry mix we are talking about sleet and snow and freezing rain. have that possibly moving in the onset before it is all said and done. that's what's going to be happening and it had wrap up with rein across the area. let's show you what's going on in terms of temperatures. because we are going to be cold this morning. look at 28 degrees in hunt valley. let's check the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we are off to a cold start. the rain is on its way. and we are dealing with fog across the region. so, take it slow out there this morning. here in anne arundel county, no delays on interstate 97. it's nice and clear from benfield boulevard up to 695. now if you are using 95, here's a live look north of 195. no delays heading down to dc traveling from elk ridge to downtown baltimore it will take 12 minutes. checking in and looking at the

other abc2 timesaver traffic drive times everything is up to speed through the fort mchenry tunnel. looking at an 8-minute ride northbound from the beltway to the toll plaza. and the jfx is going to be nice and clear just 11 minutes right now traveling southbound from the beltway all the way downtown to east fayette street. that's a look at your morning commute. now over to you. it's a critical tool for investigators solving difficult crimes but when is it legal for law enforcement to take a suspect's dna. that's a question by the u.s. supreme court after the 2009 conviction of the maryland man for rape and murder was overturned on constitutional grounds. abc2 news sherrie johnson is here with details and sherrie what did the appeals court say a year ago that got us here today. >> reporter: the maryland dna collection act is a law that allows officials to take the dna from those who have been arrested, but not convicted of a serious crime. so now the question is, is it constitutionol on whether the state says once arrested you lose the privacy right. today the u.s. supreme court

will figure that out as the case of alonzo king takes center stagech he was arrested in 2009 on assault charges. police took dna and the sample matched dna collected from the victim and police then linked him to a 2003 rape. king's lawyers moved to suppress the evidence of the dna match saying the initial draw violated his constitutional rights. but the lower court found king guilty of first degree rape and sentenced him to life in prison. last april, the maryland court of appeals ruled against a key provision of the law opponents of the law say it runs over 4th amend ment ban on unreasonable serp and seizure. >> at the -- search and seizure. >> at the time of an arrest the body is searched and if there's a car the car can be searched. the supreme court said they can take a blood sample with a needle and strip search you. everybody gets fingerprinted. clearly they can put a q-tip on the side of your cheek for a

second. >> reporter: all states require dna from individuals convicted of a fell knit government and 28 states requires dna collection and analysis from some arrestees. there's a lot to discuss in annapolis. gun control and repealing the death penalty will be up for debate as soon as today. both bills were voted out of the judicial proceedings committee last thursday and the death penalty bill could come up for a vote before the full senate as early as tomorrow. also today, the aclu is set to testify in support of a bill requiring search warrants for police to have access to cell phone tracking information. in 2011, cell phone carriers responded to more than a 1 million requests for subscriber information from law enforcement. and also today, there is a hearing on a bill to protect pregnant workers in our state. the law clarifies and explains employers obligation to provide equal treatment to pregnant workers as they extend to any other temporary physically limited workers both of those

hearings start at 1. follow us on twitter, we will keep you posted hash tag gmn. the police get two new helicopters at marten state airport in middle river. the two are the first of 10 to replace the current fleet. some of the choppers are more than 20 years old so they will be used for search and rescue, law enforcement, homeland security and medivac. the state contracted with a company augusta westland to replace them in the wake of the september 2008 helicopter crash that killed four people. baltimore county councilman todd hof addressing his -- huff addressing his dui charge saying he is going to september consequences and was arrested saturday. police say he was driving a county owned car at the time and he says he volume unterrible gave up the county vehicle and no word on what it could mean for his job. breaking news right now. 18 people are dealed dead after a hot -- dead after a hot air balloon caught fire after 2

this morning in luxor egypt. according to a security official, the balloon carrying 21 caught fire triggering an explosion in a gas canister and plunged a thousand feet to the ground. three survivors of the crash were teaken to local hospitals with -- daken to local hospitals -- taken to local hospitals with critical injuries. most recent report that 18 died just when you thought you could rest mother nature comes back. >> how states are dealing with serious winter weather. >> reporter: this morning the u.s -- usns comfort says bye to baltimore. where it is headed and when it's setting sail. >> we have been talking about the storm and i will tell you when it will arrive and how much rain we will see. >> reporter: everything is up

to speed here on 695 at pulaski highway. i will let you know what it looks like on 95 and 83 coming up on good morning maryland.

♪ ♪ we need more loving ♪ we need more money ♪ they say ♪ stop and smell the flowers ♪ and lose it ♪ and dance with me all together now! ♪ hey, baby, when i'm lookin' at you ♪ ♪ i know this fact is true ♪ there's beauty in the world ♪ hey, baby, when i'm lookin' at you ♪ ♪ there's beauty in the world ♪ [ clapping ]

it's a floating hospital and traveled the world serving others. >> usns comfort does medical and dental and veterinary work and she is heading out to sea today. linda so is live this morning to tell you more about the navy's mission called

continuing promise 2013. what's this all about. >> reporter: well it's the human tarry relief mission they are heading on. but it's a sad morning because the usns comfort has been a part of baltimore for the past 25 years but when it leaves it's not coming back because it has new home heading to norfolk virginia where it will be the home base. so, when the usns comfort leaves is it going to the new home? >> yes indeed. when comfort leaves today, she will be doing several days of sea trials and then the ship will move down to norfolk in preparation for its involvement with continuing promise 2013. >> reporter: and we are sad because it's part -- it's been part of the landscape here for the last 25 years. why is norfolk the new home. >> baltimore has been a good home for the ship. but there are several significant advantages that

will be gained. one of the primary ones is the navy will save $2 million by moving the ship down to a pier in norfolk. and there are also several mission advantages as well. it is 12 hours closer to places where it will deploy on scheduled trips and then there is enormous engineering and maintenance support that's available right there in norfolk. >> reporter: quickly, here, tell us about the trip that's heading on now. i understand it's going to be on a five-month mission trips humanitarian relief trip. >> absolutely. the ship will be deploying continuing promise 2013 for about 4 1/2 months. to 8 countries in central and south america and the caribbean sea. >> reporter: okay. wonderful thanks so much for joining us this morning james. he will join us in another 30 minutes to tell us more about the mission and where it's heading what it will be doing there. we will have much more coming up in our next half-hour.

linda so, live in canton, back to you. >> thanks so much. we will check in in a bit. look at this. they were starting to thaw out a little bit and now states like kansas and texas are to -- have to deal with more snow and harsh winter conditions. whipping wind and whiteout conditions and treacherous roads is what they are dealing with. last week a storm dumped 22 inches of snow on parts of kansas and now they are dealing with another round. >> this could be much more treacherous to travel in, and we just ask you to exercise that more abundance and caution. >> in kansas city people are still trying to dig themselves out of the snow that did you ped on them last week and now they are facing -- dumped on them last week and now they are dealing with more. some plays they were seeing as much as 3 feet of snow. we haven't seen any this year just a little bit. >> not at all. and parts of texas, oklahoma, kansas and missouri they were declaring states of emergency as that storm rolled through

again for round 2. >> you know what, i bet the same people were saying oh, boy i. wish it's a blizzard lots of snow and they are getting it back to back. so watch what you ask for. we could get it not this time but we have plenty of winter left. let's check out what's going on. there's the big storm brewing as it dropped lots of snow across the plains. work its way off toward midwest. blizzard conditions and we have a stormy side to this system. lots of rain across the south and severe weather and heavy rain which is going to lead to flooding and that's the part that's going to be working its way towards us as we go through the rest of the afternoon and also the evening. let's switch over and i can show outtemperatures this morning because as you step out the door, yes, we are above average but we are cold so make sure you bundle up. you will need the rain gear as well. 32 degrees in baltimore. annapolis coming in at 33 degrees. we are at 31 in norrisville the northeast coming in at 33 and 27 in goldsboro good morning to you. let's go back over to the graphics and i will show you

what's going on as we right now close to home we are not dealing with wet weather but plenty of cloud cover. and this will soon change because we look at abc2 most being ary future trend and wet weather will move in. so around 8 this morning, still away from us. but, it goes into motion and that's when we will see change in the forecast by early afternoon. we could start out with a little bit of sleet mixing in with the rain. don't be surprised if that happens but the heavier rain comes tonight and we are talking about maybe up to 2 inches of rain across the area. you can see that with the future rainfall totals. and this does not look good. so flooding shall a. flood watch is in effect this afternoon through the evening. this is what you can expect as you go through today. temperatures at 45. 50 by thursday and windy conditions as we head into the weekend. let's check the abc2 time saver traffic with lauren cook good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the rain has not started but we are dealing with fog out there. so you will want to use the low beams this morning. if you are traveling in howard county, nothing to get in your

way on interstate 706789 it's clear from -- 70. it's clear from columbia pike to 695. this is the beltway here in pikesville at green spring avenue. traffic is moving along. no delays on the outer loop down to route 40. and it will remain nice and clear on the inner loop up to the 83s. and speaking of 83, as we head up to hunt valley, this is shawan road. no problems getting down to the beltway but do be aware that later today, bridgework will intensify one lane will be shut down in both directions at middletown road from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. and this traffic pattern will continue through friday. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic now over to you. news time 5:15. a memorial bike ride will be held to remember a johns hopkins university student who was killed while riding his bike two years ago today. family and friends of nathan will meet at the crash site on west university parkway and will ride at 6:30 tonight. his parents have launched

americans for older drivers safety to prevent this tragedy from happening again. right now lawmakers are considering new laws for elderly drivers this session. earlier this month, a committee discussed licensing policies and what issues to expect as drivers age. the rate of 16 and 17-year- old drivers who died in crashes increased the first half of last year. it's creeping up to unacceptable levels. 240, 16 and 17-year-olds were killed from january to june of last year. that's up 19% from 2011. the report identified no single reason for the mortality jump. but like numerous traffic safety groups it's warned distractions posed by cell phones and other electronics while behind the wheel could be leading to this heightened number of crashes. it's hard to keep anything secret for too long if you are famous especially if you are a jackson. >> janet managed to keep one thing under wraps for a few months but we will reveal her big secret. >> the cat is out of the bag.

>> and jacoby jones will dance for the judges but who is going to be alongside with him? dancing with the stars we will tell you more about who is going to be on the season. that will be revealed ahead. and as we go to break, a live look down at the inner haror. yesterday it was butte -- harbor. yesterday it was beautiful and changes could be on the way. lynette is straight ahead withmaryland's most accurate forecast when good morning maryland continues. >> hive i am beth troutman. >> and i am steven baitman. >> here are videos you want to share. >> you hear kangaroos are good boxers this is how they train this is love bug at the exotic experience and he is using that stuffed hippo as a punching bag and there's other animals a dog and referee and at the end of the video love bug gets upset at the referee chases the ref out of the ring but definitely beating up on the hippo. >> a fun video to watch and

amotley crue of animals. this video you want to watch over and over and over again 2- year-old jude doesn't want to go down for his nap. instead, he spend his nap time entertaining himself by dogface plants over and -- face bush by doing face plants over and over. they are watching him and cracking up. it's hilarious no matter how many times you see it. many times you see it. catch us on right at university of phoenix we know the value of your education is where it can take you. (subway announcer; "now arriving at city hospital") which is why we're proud to help connect our students with leading employers across the nation. (subway announcer: "next stop financial center") let's get to work.

when your allergies start, doctors recommend taking one non-drowsy claritin every day during your allergy season for continuous relief. 18 days! 17 days! 22 days of continuous relief. live claritin clear. every day.

5:21. thanks for joining many we know jacoby jones is strange to win the mirror ball trophy on dancing with the stars. but who is he going to be competing against? that answer is coming up this morning on good morning america. the cast of stars will be revealed and there are reports that andy dick and wynonnaa jud could be competing. but you will know for sure who is taking part in season 16 when good morning america at 7 happens this morning so stay with us. we will keep you posted and also on good morning america, robin roberts will interview first lady michelle obama. this is robin's first interview since she came back from the show last week.

this is mrs. obama's first morning show. tomorrow she heads to chicago to make an announcement about bringing physical activity to schools as part of the let's move campaign. miss jackson is mrs. jackson a rep for janet jackson confirms she married a billionaire businessman. entertainment weekly said they exchanged vows last year in a quiet private ceremony. the statement was in response to rumors that they were planning an extravagant wedding and they said the wedding gifts were donation to favorite charities. mrs. jackson's third marriage so she's been married for more than a year. so many gifts why sent to newtown they asked you to stop. >> but that generosity didn't go unappreciateed. you might wonder what happened to the stuff. it was distribe and we will tell you what's being done with the toys not handed out to the community. >> also schools need an upgrade and people turned out to have their voices heard about what

should be done with the buildings details when good morning maryland continues. >> reporter: topping america's money fresh fierce for the market with no -- fears for the market with no clear winner for italy. dow lost 216 and the most in more than three months. more americans fell behind on their auto payments late last year. loans often take a back seat to holiday shopping during the fourth quarter. the delinquency rate for all of last year was one of the lowest in a while. ikea is no longer serving swedish meat balls in europe. test in the czech republic showed some contained horse meat. the company says the meat balls sold in the u.s. comes from an american supplier and the tv ratings for the academy awards were slightly higher than last year and the best in three years. this year's strong oscar contenders helped. host seth mcfarlane is probably why there was a increase in younger viewers.

that's america's money. have great day. i am diana perez.

do we have a mower? no. a trimmer? no. we got nothing. we just bought our first house, we're on a budget. we're not ready for spring. well let's get you ready. very nice. you see these various colors. we got workshops every saturday. yes, maybe a little bit over here. this spring, take on more lawn for less. not bad for our first spring. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get ready for spring with this ryobi 18-volt trimmer, just ninety- nine bucks.

this is what's coming in our direction. so you see the yellows and oranges and reds. this is heavy rain across the area. down south you can see some of the pinks in north carolina. that could be moving in our direction going through the afternoon as well. i am thinking the time frame is

around lunchtime and temperatures will be hovering around the freezing degree mark at that time. so we could start you out with sleet and that will mix with -- mix with rain. with the rain and heavy rain potential we have a flood watch that goes into effect this afternoon. see it for the areas here shaded in the outline of this green color. so, we are talking about baltimore county also carroll county and arundel county and frederick county this morning. this is what to expect in terms of temperatures this morning. it's chilly. bundle up as you head out and about. let's get a check of the traffic with lauren cook good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the rain has not started yet and no delays right now on the jfx. it's nice and clear at cold spring lane and will continue this way as you make the push downtown. if you are using 95 this morning, here's the fort mchenry tunnel. everything is moving along no delays southbound and traveling northbound it's going to take you just 8 minutes to get from the beltway to the toll plaza. 895 we have all of that

construction at the spur but no